Abstract

Discomfort, anxiety, and a sense of isolation are all too common emotions in the internal medicine community today, as the discipline appears progressively less attractive to students, residents, and practitioners. The first two emotions are effective goads to action, but a sense of isolation is dangerous, letting us believe the pressures on us are unique. Perspective is essential if we are to frame our problems properly and have any chance of solving them. Changes in internal medicine could be made within the narrow confines of internal medicine's own needs and perspectives or such change could be approached within the broader